Sleep apnea gives rise to the condition where the tongue relaxes and contributes to blocking of the air passageway in the pharynx for breathing from the nasal and oro openings. Further, loose tissue, including the tongue, the pharyngeal folds, the soft palate, the muscular uvulae and the palate-pharyngeal arch, tend to vibrate as air flows past, especially in a high pressure forced condition causing vibration observed as snoring. In prior patents reviewed, various contradictions were evident as to the method of preventing snoring. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,774,446 and 3,434,470, and British Pat. No. 1,248,474, propose to insure that oral breathing occurred. Whereas, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,169,473 and 4,304,227, propose to completely block oral breathing to prevent snoring.
In addition, those and others, in particular, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,169,473 and 4,304,227, propose holding both dental arches in a locked position which can be detrimentral to the normal bite relationship of the dental arches. Such condition causes jaw arches and distorts the normal biting relationship of the upper and lower jaws. This device allows freedom of that relationship by anchoring only to one dental arch and allows the other jaw to float to any relaxed position. Other patents reviewed in this related field were U.S. Pat. No. 3,211,143, and 3,448,738, and 3,692,205, and 4,196,724, and Fed. Rep. of Germany Nos. 65194, and 2704709. Wirt, U.S. Pat. No. 4,196,724, defines a means for sucking out air to create a vacuum, whereas this application defines an automatically created vacuum when the tongue tries to withdraw from the sealed chamber, and Samelson, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,169,473, and 4,304,227, defines "sucking" out of air and imperforate structure to prevent oral breathing as opposed to this application which provides oral breathing holes to aid in lowering breathing pressure. It was sincerely believed that none of them operated in this manner nor have achieved what this tested and proven device has in regard to relieving effects of sleep apnea and reducing snoring.
It is the object of this invention to help keep open the air passageway in the pharyngeal area as much as possible during sleep by automatically holding the tip of the tongue forward of the dental arches and to provide oral breathing passageways, which action, in combination, significantly reduces the harmful effects of obstructive sleep apnea and disruptive snoring by allowing relaxed low pressure breathing rather than forced high pressure breathing.